"Smoking during pregnancy is known to adversely affect the lung development of the developing baby, causing lifelong decreased lung function and an increased risk of asthma," said Cindy McEvoy neonatologist and associate professor from the study.

"We found that babies born to pregnant smoking women who took 500 milligrams of Vitamin C daily during their pregnancy had significantly improved pulmonary function tests measured at about 48 hours after delivery."

In this pilot study, McEvoy and colleagues randomly assigned 159 pregnant women who were unable to quit smoking to either daily Vitamin C or a placebo starting before 22 weeks gestation through delivery. A group of nonsmoking pregnant women also was studied as a reference group.

The researchers measured the pulmonary function in all newborns at approximately 48 hours of age and found the newborns of smoking women who received Vitamin C supplementation had significantly improved lung function compared with the newborns of smoking women who received a placebo, as measured by standard newborn pulmonary function testing.

In addition, the scientists found that one particular genetic variant that has been shown to increase the risk of smokers developing cancer and is associated with both a reduced ability to quit smoking and a high likelihood of relapse also seemed to intensify the harmful effects of maternal smoking on babies' lungs.

"Getting women to quit smoking during pregnancy has to be priority one, but this study provides a way to potentially help the infants born to the 50% of women who cannot quit smoking when pregnant," said McEvoy. "Vitamin C supplementation may block some of the in-utero effects of smoking on fetal lung development."

"Our findings are important because improved lung function tests at birth are associated with less wheezing and asthma in childhood," McEvoy said. "Vitamin C is a simple, safe, and inexpensive treatment that may decrease the impact of smoking during pregnancy on the respiratory health of children."

Close



Fertility Breakthroughs

of





IVF babies born from frozen embryos are heavier and healthier than those born from fresh embryos, new fertility research has discovered.
Read the full story here.

Babies with three biological parents could soon be a reality after a new £6m laboratory has been given the go ahead and funding to develop a unique IVF technique which uses DNA from a third party.
Read the full story here.

Reception class pupil Reuben Blake went back to school today, but his twin sister will have to wait another five years until she is old enough.
That is because, despite the fact the brother and sister were conceived from the same batch of embryos, they were born five years apart to parents Simon and Jody Blake.
Read the full story here.

Scientists have made a breakthrough that could enable infertile men to father children with their own sperm.
Researchers at Muenster University in Germany grew mouse sperm in a laboratory and believe the same technique could be used with human sperm.
Read the full story here.

Scientists from the Imperial College London have discovered a 'fertility switch' that could help treat infertility and miscarriage in the future.
Read the full story here.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority have announced today that women who donate their eggs to infertile couples, will be rewarded an extra £500 in costs.
Read the full story here.

A baby girl was born after being conceived using sperm that has been kept frozen for 25 years - the longest that sperm has been kept frozen and then successfully used for IVF in the UK.
Read the full story here.